Pride & Preconceived Notions
by Doverit
Summary: Daryl and Beth have a failure to communicate. Lust, love and angst. Story takes place in the Season 4/ Ep.13 "Alone" world. However, Beth does not get kidnapped.
1. Chapter 1

Beth was climbing up the staircase of the funeral home when she heard him come up behind her. He had an almost silent-tread normally, but this time he made his presence known. She could hear his ragged breathing as he moved in closer, and she knew why that was.

Her thoughts went dark, but despite her mind's reluctance, her body was already responding to him. She felt her pulse speed up and her own breathing became erratic. Her base-needs were taking over, as they always seemed to do with him.

Pausing on the top stair, she turned to face him, standing two steps below her, his expression unreadable as always. They were almost eye-to-eye from this vantage and she could see that the blue of his eyes was barely visible. His pupils were dilated with his need for her. Was it lust, love, just scratching an itch? She didn't know, and wasn't that just the problem?

Daryl put his hand on her waist and steered her toward the bedroom. He was a bit on the rough-side, but she was learning that was normal for him. He didn't speak, but she knew what he wanted without words. She could sense his desire in the way he moved and knew what he wanted from her. She wanted it too. She just never thought it would be like this with him, so cold, so distant.

He knew just where to touch her to make her body hum with pleasure, but there was no sweetness, no intimacy. No whispered words of love or gentle caresses. Sex with Daryl was dark, rough and bruising.

She'd seen the scars on his back. She had some idea of what his life had been like before. He didn't talk much about his past, but the little he did confide left no doubt that he'd suffered many years of physical and mental abuse. It was possible, she thought sadly, that these rough-encounters were all he had to give her. They undressed in silence, his hooded eyes never leaving hers.

She looked up at him as he moved his body over hers. His eyes were closed, his face scrunched-up and tense as he pounded his hips into her. The skin on her back burned a little as it rubbed roughly against the sheets as they moved.

His pace had been gentle at the start. He'd figured out early-on that she'd come quick that way. And she had. Now her body was wet, loose and pliable for him to slake his need.

The room was silent except for their breathing, the slap of his flesh over hers and his animalistic grunts as he ground himself against her. After a few more moments, his rhythm faltered, his back tensed and bowed as he pushed harshly into her one last time.

"Fuck!," he grunted, his mouth gone slack as he pulsed to a finish deep inside her.

His fingers reached down and grabbed the base of his cock. He slowly withdrew from her tight-heat, holding on to the full-condom so it didn't leak. He then flipped over into his back, his body damp with sweat from his efforts. His arm was thrown casually over his eyes as his heart rate and breathing slowed, then evened-out. He disposed of the condom and lay his head back on the pillow. He looked calm and relaxed.

He managed to mumble out, "g'nite," before drifting off to sleep. Within moments he was softly snoring. Sleep didn't come so easy to Beth. Although her body was sated, her thoughts were restless.

Her thoughts drifted to their first time together. It was Beth that had initiated it. Walkers had come right to their front door. Thinking it was a stray dog they had been trying to feed, Daryl opened the door without caution. There were too many for him to stop, and they pushed in.

Beth ran, and they were separated. After a fierce battle, he made it out, but couldn't find her. He screamed her name until his voice went hoarse. There were walkers all around the yard, but he didn't seem to notice or care.

When she found him sometime later, he was sitting on the ground staring aimlessly. It was a miracle he hasn't been bit. He told her in a low, aching-voice, that he thought the walkers had gotten her. He thought he'd find her body in the light of day, torn to shreds or worse, reanimated and hungry, hissing and shuffling until he himself had to end her.

He sat there listless, looking more like a walker than the capable man he was. She had pounded on his lax-form with her tiny fists and screamed at him to get up, get moving...run. After a few moments, he did.

Beth pushed and prodded him into the untouched shed in the backyard. Locking the door behind them, they huddled together silently all through the night, listening to the walkers shuffle and moan all around them.

In the light of day, they surveyed the scene. There were a few walkers still about, but the bulk of the small-herd had been killed by Daryl the night before, or had moved on. They spent the rest of that day, silently clearing out corpses and when they finally stumbled back into the house to rest, Daryl had lost it.

The normally stoic man dropped to the floor and just sobbed huge, wracking-sobbed. The stress and exhaustion finally catching up with him. It was frightening for Beth to see. But more, she couldn't stand to see him hurting like that.

She sat down on the rug next to him and squeezed him with all her might. Her body draped over him, trying to smother his pain. He never said a word, so neither did she. She just hummed softly and skimmed her hands over him gently, like a mother wanting to soothe her frightened child.

After awhile, he quieted and turned in her embrace so their bodies were pressed together proper. He buried his face in her neck and breathed her in. She wriggled-in as close as she could. When she felt his erection, hot and hard against her, she reached for him without conscious thought, desperately wanting to comfort his aching soul.

He took her there on the floor.

He was gentle enough when he realized she was fumbling to keep up. The tightness of her body telling him what she was too embarrassed to say. That she was new at this, that she was nervous and a bit scared.

After he slowed his pace, she came so hard she saw stars. She cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she throbbed around him. He pushed in a few more times, just managing to pull-out before he finished, pulsing his seed onto her flushed thigh.

He laid with her there on the rug until their breathing slowed. Then, he grasped her hand and pulled her up with him as he stood. He kissed her forehead and held her hand as they walked upstairs to a bed together. They slept deep.

She awoke the next morning, stretched and felt the new soreness between her legs. She hummed to herself as vivid snapshots from last night flickered through her thoughts.

The bright sunlight streaming into the room told her it was mid-morning. He was gone. He left a note saying he had left to gather supplies.

When he returned hours later, he had bags with him from a successful run. His dark mood had lifted, thankfully. He was even smiling as he emptied the bags before her. She grinned back at him in return, feeling light and happy.

But there was no mention of the night before. No conversation of what they had done. She watched him for clues to his thoughts, about what they had shared, how he felt about it, but his expression was unreadable.

Beth was beginning to wonder if he had felt last night had been a mistake. Then she had noticed the boxes of condoms in the bottom of one bag. Her eyes slid over to him to gauge his reaction to her find, but he was looking down, suddenly very interested in picking his nails.

She felt her heart swell. She suspected that the reason he had gone out on the run was specifically to get those brightly-colored boxes. That had to mean something? At least she knew there would definitely be more sex. Looking dubiously at the amount of boxes, apparently a lot more sex.

She had been happy to see that. She realized she both loved and desired him deeply. Although he never said anything, she knew having sex with her pleased him. It seemed to Beth that he was happier, less moody and restless because of it.

She was right. He took her often after that first time. Everyday, sometimes twice a day. He'd have that look in his eye, that determined, masculine-stance, and then he'd reach for her.

Beth never pulled away, never said no. She always felt pleasure being with him, but a sadness was building inside her. She wanted more. She wanted him to love her the way she knew love could be, all sweetness and light. Problem was, she was beginning to doubt if he had more to give.

Her mother had always given good advice. In this instance the memory of her knowing voice haunted Beth's thoughts, "when someone shows you who they are...believe them the first time." Was physical love all this beautiful, damaged man had to give her?


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl woke up to a cloudy gray morning. Arching-up a bit to see out the bedroom window, he could tell rain was definitely in the forecast for as well, he thought. He didn't have a special need to go on a run. There was enough fresh food to last a few days at least, so he didn't need to hunt. It would be a good day to stay home, clean his weapons, make some extra bolts. God knows there was always stuff to be done.

He snuck a glance over at Beth, still sound asleep next to him in bed. She had been naked when he drifted-off. Now he could see she had thrown a loose T-shirt on sometime during the night. Her thin, shapely legs were sticking out from under the covers tempting him to reach over and stroke her soft didn't want to disturb her though. She looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there, her blond hair a wild mess around her face. She looked just like an angel.

He couldn't believe she was his. He shifted his hips to relieve the ache of his morning hard-on that was twitching impatiently just from looking at her. Down-boy, he thought wryly. Since their first time together, they'd had sex every night. Sometimes during the day too, he admitted wolfishly. She was like a drug, one hit and he was hooked. He couldn't get enough of her.

If he was honest, he wanted her even more than that. Just watching her do mundane tasks, sent his thoughts twisting. He kept his libido leashed for those times when he sensed it was too much. He didn't want her to see him as a dirty ol' pervert, climbing on top of her every chance he got. Damned if he didn't feel that way most days. He didn't like this hold she had over him. He never craved a woman like this before. It put him on edge.

She was just so soft and pretty, and she smelled so good. She was just good period. He realized he always wanted to be near her, touch her, be with her. The sex was amazing, but it was only part of it. Daryl didn't know if it was because it was just the two of them stuck alone together or what.

It was impossible to imagine being like this with Beth if they were still with the group at the prison. That thought made him feel ashamed, knowing there were reasons for that impossibility. He wouldn't think on that now though. He wouldn't think about the groups' certain negative reactions to him and Beth together. His desire for her was something Daryl was unwilling to deny now. Reason and right be damned.

There had been women in his past with soft-eyes and willing bodies. They all just blended together in his mind. He was sure they had felt the same about him. None of them ever tried to stick around at least, not that he'd invited them too neither. He'd never had anything like what he and Beth were now. Ever. She made him...happy.

It nagged at him though, why she was with even him like they were. She didn't need to be. He'd never pushed for anything with her. He wasn't like that. Never expected stuff from any woman.

Not that he wanted it to stop. Hell no! It was just that he'd never been with anyone like her. He figured there was a good reason for that. Women like Beth didn't belong with trash like him.

Every time he reached for her, and she willingly pressed her lithe little body against him with no guile, no hesitation, it was like a miracle. Daryl wasn't used to good things happening to him. Truth be told, he was still guarding himself around her, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He figured she was young. Soon enough she would wise-up and tell him to get his grubby-paws off her, that this was all the result of Stockholm Syndrome or some shit like that. When that happened, he wouldn't press her. He wouldn't force her to stay. He'd lost just about everything else but he still had his pride.

Hell, he knew he didn't deserve to be with her, but he couldn't help himself. He was just biding his time, waiting for her to figure out what he already knew to be true, that the world had changed, but it hadn't changed that much that a man like him deserved to be with someone like her.

Eventually, if they survived long enough, they'd need to find other people. Once they did, he figured that was when things would change. He just hoped he could be strong when it did and let her go without any fuss.

Daryl sighed, and chewed on his thumb nail in frustration, struggling to even imagine a future without her. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away for now. For today, in the perfect-bubble they were in, he wasn't going to deny himself this gift she was offering him...herself.

He sighed and watched her even breaths as she slept on, only allowing himself to gently touch the tendrils of soft hair that lay against her pillow.

He'd deal with the rest as it came.


	3. Chapter 3

Beth blinked her eyes awake. Her gaze immediately landing on Daryl's face. He was already up and watching her, his eyes clear and focused on her. She knew that predatory look. Stretching her legs, she ducked her head down to give herself a chance to wake up a bit before she had to deal with him, and all the things he made her feel.

She was annoyed that she was barely awake and could already feel her body responding to him, just from the look he was leveling at her. It was ridiculous how weak she was around him. He made her unsure of herself. It made her angry, because he seemed totally immune to all of these feelings that were plaguing her.

Daryl reached out to stroke her arm. He touch was firm and sure. Electrical-pulses danced over her skin from the contact. She knew this was his way of telling her that he wanted to be with her.

His touch was perfect, and way too much for her to deal with right now. She flinched and pulled away from him, trying to keep her distance. He frowned at her reaction to his touch, but let her back away with no resistance.

"I'll start breakfast," she mumbled half-heartily, as she turned away from him. She rolled out of bed and put her jeans on.

Beth frowned to herself as she made her way downstairs. Even though she did it on purpose, for what she felt was a good reason, pulling away from his touch felt wrong. She wanted him to touch her, desire her. Who was she really punishing by refusing him?

She shook her head in disgust at her own obvious weakness. It was pathetic to admit, but she was probably too far gone when it came to him anyway. Where did that leave her now besides an emotional mess? She wished she could just be casual about it, be glad for what they had, even if it was just sex. But, she wasn't. She wanted more.

Beth didn't have much experience, but she knew being in love wasn't supposed to make you feel like this. She remembered all those romantic novels, tv shows, and movies that she and Maggie had been addicted to as girls. They gobbled that romance up like the sweetest candy. Their brother Shawn would tease them mercilessly about what fan-girls they were. He laughed when they swooned after the handsome, smitten-hero made a better man by his beautiful heroine. But they didn't care what he thought. They loved those love stories.

And then there was all the examples of real love that she was blessed enough to witness. Her parents love for one. They had a deep bond. They were very kind to one another, and affectionate too. Daddy always made sure to say how much he loved his wife and children, how precious they were to him. He knew those words meant something. They were important, needed even.

Then the world ended, but still her sister had managed to find love with Glenn. He was a good man, and Beth was happy for Maggie. It was a miracle they found each other in this life. They never took that miracle for granted either. Beth admired them for it. They scraped and fought to stay alive, to stay together, to keep both their lives and their love in these awful days.

Beth knew Maggie never doubted Glenn's feelings for her. The sweet man wore his heart on his sleeve from day-one. It was almost embarrassing how open and demonstrative he was. It never bothered him one whit to hug and kiss her in front of the group. Never bothered him to tell her how much he loved her in front of everyone either.

Beth wouldn't expect those sorts of grand-gestures from Daryl. She enjoyed giving her friendship and affection to others freely. She always did her whole life. It was part of who she was.

But friendship was a very different thing than what she felt for Daryl. She liked the idea of keeping some things private just between lovers. She would also want to keep some things special, just for the two of them to share. She would happily respect his obvious need for privacy.

All she needed now, she thought bitterly while opening the cabinets to get the saucepan, spoons, and bowls, was for him to give a fig either way, some sign that he had feelings for her beyond just sex and obligation. Grabbing all the breakfast items she slammed them down heavily on the counter, her frustrations beginning to get the best of her.

A part of her felt childish for feeling this way, for wanting more. The world they knew was over. What did she really expect from this wild man?

Childish or not, in the end she knew she couldn't keep making love to Daryl not knowing if he was just fucking her. She already lost her heart to him, she at least wanted to keep her pride.

She was getting the thankfully-still-working gas stove lit to boil water for their scavenged-oatmeal when she heard him comedownstairs. Her thoughts were still a jangled-mess so she stubbornly ignored him and continued to face the stove. He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her ass flush against him.

"Good mornin'," he said sleepily into her ear as he leaned into her. She could feel he was hard beneath his jeans. Despite everything, she could feel herself responding to him. It made her angry, that he could affect her this way and remain detached himself. She was furious with him and herself when she turned to face him.

"Get off me Daryl," she practically growled at him.

Daryl froze, hesitated a beat and then quietly pulled away from her. She felt the loss of his body heat like a physical blow, and that made her angrier still.

"Why are you always on me like that?," she spat at him, her eyes shooting daggers.

She was boiling-mad, her frustrations now rolling through her and seizing all rationality. She wanted him to hold her, kiss her, make gentle-love to her. She wanted him to say the reason he wanted her was that he adored her, loved her beyond reason.

He did none of those things, just silently stared at her. She bit her lip to hold In the tears that were threatening and turned her back on him. She was too embarrassed to ask for something she felt should just be, but wasn't. She felt like the biggest fool.

When she turned back to face him, to unleash more of the venom bubbling inside her, he was already gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl stumbled blindly through the trees making enough noise to attract every walker for miles. Pushing through a particularly dense-area, a low-hanging tree branch snapped back and caught him right in the forehead.

"Dammit!," he grunted harshly, having to bite his tongue to keep him from yelling. Thankfully, the branch knocked enough sense into him for him to wise-up a bit to his surroundings. He was thinking of Beth and letting his emotions rule his actions. Stupid like that could get you dead out here. Time to focus on the job at hand and stop being such a bitch.

He shook his sore-head in disgust at how pathetic he was. Despite all his bravado and mental-preparations about Beth, he was absolutely blindsided by her outburst this morning.

And didn't that just make him the biggest fool? He knew this would happen. He friggin predicted it! He thought he had done his best to prepare for it when it happened.

Guess what? Joke was on him because there was no way to protect himself from this kind of hurt. He was just kidding himself thinking he could keep her at arms length. Despite all his efforts, she had worked her way inside him so snug that he could barely breathe now without wanting her. Felt like a damn weight on his chest pinning him down and Daryl just wanted to run, to escape all of it.

His breath was coming in pants as he moved through the woods, so he slowed his pace to try and regain control of himself and the noises he was making. He had been gone a few hours. But instead of just running as far away as possible, he ran the perimeter of the funeral home in ever widening-circles, unwilling to be too far away, leaving Beth defenseless if a problem should arise.

Daryl kicked roughly at a large tree root in his way. He was her bitch alright. Too weak to put some distance between them even when she was practically begging for him to leave her be this morning.

He knew whatever happened between them from here on out, he would continue to do everything in his power to keep her safe. Even if she demanded that he go, he'd stay. He couldn't live with himself knowing she would be alone and unprotected. He knew even if she hated him, he'd still give his life to protect hers.

He dealt with ten scattered walkers so far. That was three more than a few days ago, and two more than the perimeter-check the day before that. He used his machete on all of them. Preferring up-close-and-personal to the silent-efficiency of his crossbow today. His muscles strained and bunched with the brutal-force he used to slash through their rotting skulls and bring them thumping down to the ground.

Beth said it wasn't supposed to be fun, killing them. He had to disagree today. The way he was feeling, brutal force was the way to go, felt real good even. The only downfall being that he was now covered in guts and gore. Reeking like the dead was nauseating, but it did add some camouflage, which in his distracted frame-of-mind could only help him as he continued to make his way around the perimeter.

It was obvious to Daryl that the walker population near the funeral home was steadily increasing. He wasn't sure if the things could smell them, hear them, sense them, or what, but whenever people stayed in any place too long, the nearby walker count seemed to steadily grow. Same thing had happened at the farm and the prison after that.

It wasn't just dumb-luck that so many of those things stumbled for miles to get to the living instead of just falling off a cliff somewhere once they started walking. It was like they had built-in radar or something to find human flesh.

In the beginning of the outbreak, there was just so many dead. It was hard to see any rhyme or reason to their wanderings, their destruction. It had seemed random. Just bad luck to be close enough to one to get bit. Now, anyone alive left would know how to avoid them, how to fight. And yet, the dead still come knocking. That couldn't be coincidence. Daryl felt certain that the dead had their own type of survival-instinct.

He felt this to be true in his gut. He never had the chance to run his fledgling-theory past Rick or the prison-council before the Governor and his people invaded. If he had, he felt they'd see and understand, even though that meant no place would ever be safe for long. Even though it meant no place could ever truly be a home anymore. Unfortunately, Daryl never got that chance to tell them.

Even though he knew there was this certain safety-risk for them if they stayed too long at the funeral home, he was unwilling to end their idyllic time together unless absolutely necessary. For mostly selfish reasons, of course. He liked having a comfortable roof overhead, in a house full of amenities. He also liked sleeping next to Beth in a real bed. It was his favorite thing actually and he was unwilling to cut that time short, despite the risk. Even despite the fact that one small-herd already had found it's way to them.

Beth was unaware of his walker-theory or she might have insisted they move on right after the dead walked through their front door. Daryl felt it was better to just up his perimeter-checks and take their chances. This life was all about taking risks. He was willing to risk their safety, within limits, to have had that time in relative comfort with Beth. That was the difference between just

surviving and really living in his way of thinking.

Now he knew it was time to move on, for many reasons, but the first one being their safety. Best to go now and eliminate at least that one element of danger.

Daryl knew life on the road had many dangers unrelated to walkers. He was loathe to face any of that danger with Beth by his side. He now had too much to lose.

She had learned a lot since the farm, but she was still small and weak. She was relatively easy-prey to any people they may encounter. Not to mention the fact that she was a young, beautiful woman. Daryl shuddered to think of all the awful-things people in this new world would do to her. Men, in particular would be very interested in her. Just the thought of it had him tensing his muscles and clenching his fists in rage.

This was why after the prison fell he had kept them to the woods, away from any pockets of survivors that might be lurking about. Nothing was guaranteed, but he knew most people would keep to the paved roads, towns. The stuff they knew before the world ended.

He had always been most comfortable on his own, in the quiet of the wilderness. At least that used to be his favorite place to be. Now he was beginning to realize, any place was home as long as Beth was there with him. He shook his head, making his bruised forehead throb.

"Definitely her bitch," he thought, almost in disbelief at his own pathetic state.

Looking up at the sun, he realized it was now afternoon. Time for him to head back. There were plans to be made to get them ready to move on.

He thought of her, back at the house. Doubtful she'd be happy to see him. Oh well. She'd just have to suck it up and git over it. They had more important stuff to deal with now then whatever pissed her off this morning.

And he'd have to suck it up too, he thought kicking at the leaves under his boots. Now that she's made her wishes clear, he would have to leave her be.

Despite the hurt it caused him, his mind flashed-back to her naked before him, moaning and squirming under his fingers and tongue. Her small pink-lips gently parted, little cries and gasps escaping as she came. Her labored-breath puffing softly against his neck as he drove himself into her over and over again. His body hardened painfully at the thought.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself, running his fingers roughly through his hair in frustration as he tried to will his traitorous body into submission.

It was definitely time to move on, in more ways than one, he thought as he trudged back toward the funeral home.

"But how?,"he thought as images of Beth once again invaded his thoughts.

Daryl had no friggin clue.


	5. Chapter 5

Daryl sat across from Beth at the kitchen table. It was painfully awkward between them when he first walked in the house. She checked her temper once she got a good look at him, wild-eyed and edgy and absolutely covered in black, slimy, walker-guts.

Before she could ask what happened, he sat down and started talking. She quietly joined him at the table and just listened, absorbing what he was telling her about the walkers. She didn't think he'd ever talked with her so freely before. His voice was too-low and he mumbled a lot, but he got through it. He got his point across. She almost wished he hadn't.

It made perfect sense what he was saying. It seemed so obvious now once he pointed it out, that she couldn't believe it never occurred to her before. The walkers had a survival instinct.

Dr. Jenner from the CDC told them the virus was airborne. That meant every human already had the virus inside them. Unless a cure was found, no matter how many walkers were killed, there would always be more and more walkers as the living naturally died-off.

This awful virus had in effect made a new species. It was a murderer and a parasite all rolled together. The virus needed a dead body as it's host, so it killed to get it. And, oh joy, it was smart enough to know how to seek out more living things by sensing them in some unknown way. It was smart enough to know that by grouping up into to a herd, it's chances of survival just got a lot better. This meant they were never going to be safe in any one place for long. Ever. Beth's head was spinning with the realization.

She was wringing her hands unconsciously while Daryl spoke. Now he was quiet. Probably had been for awhile the way he was looking at her with those clear blue-eyes, waiting for her to react to everything he just told her. Beth stilled her fidgety-hands. She mustered up her courage, looked up, at him and cleared her throat.

"So, the herds. The walker-herds are not just coincidence? They're grouping together on purpose? To kill more efficiently?"

Daryl nodded once. "Think so. To up their chances for survival."

Beth interrupted, "But they're dead, Daryl! Dead means not alive! That doesn't make any sense."

"I know.", he spoke low and kind, understanding her confusion and disbelief. "They're not alive like they were, but they're sumthin. They move, make sound...eat. Not alive, but sumthin."

Beth pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Her thoughts were churning with this new knowledge. Daryl said it was just a theory. She didn't believe that. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like stone-cold fact. Hadn't she seen it countless times with her own eyes?

"What are we gonna do?", she whispered, her blue-eyes wide and solemn.

"We gotta move on," he said, his voice low and raspy, "sooner the better".

Beth found herself nodding. She was already thinking on what they needed to pack for them when she heard his chair scrape backwards. He stood up, black-gore coating his jeans and shirt.

"Gonna clean up," he said as he headed toward the shower. The house's plumbing thankfully worked, but there was no hot water. Bathing indoors was another luxury they'd be saying goodbye too for awhile.

"We should aim to leave here before full-dark," he added.

Beth watched his back as he walked away. Her mind was moving in a million different directions. Then she had a thought.

"Daryl?"

He turned back to face her. He tossed his head lightly to move his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Why didn't we leave here after that group of walkers busted in?", she wondered.

He met her gaze with serious eyes, then quickly looked away and shrugged.

"You said the walkers could sense us and that they'd just keep coming?", she questioned.

"Just a theory," he mumbled.

"But you believe it?", she pressed.

Daryl shifted uncomfortably in his stance, awkwardly trying to avoid her gaze. He finally nodded.

"Then why'd we stay here?", she questioned, trying to work out why the normally cautious-man would risk staying still in any one place for long, knowing what he knew about the walkers.

"Been checking the perimeter every day. Taking watch shifts on the roof...", he tried to reason.

Beth shook her head. None of what he was saying would stop the inevitable once they were sensed. And clearly after the walkers busted in their door, they were sensed by them. The dead would just keep coming, more and more everyday as long as their living-essence remained in this one place, magnifying, drawing them in.

"Why'd we stay Daryl?", she pressed again, wanting to understand why he'd risk their safety.

He finally spoke, but it was so quiet she would of missed it if she hadn't been listening so intently for his answer. "It was worth the risk."

Beth didn't understand. What was worth the risk? Staying in this house? Did he think she couldn't handle it out on the road again? She was getting angry. "What was worth the risk? If you're thinking I can't handle being out there, you're wrong. I'd rather be out there again than risk both our li..."

"You!", Daryl interrupted her tirade, silencing her with both the volume and emotion in his voice.

"You. Me. This," he gestured forcefully back and forth between the two of them. "That was worth the risk."

Beth stared at him in stunned silence.

After a moment, he ducked his head and uncomfortably shifted his stance in the doorway. "But now we gotta go." And with that, he turned back and left the room.

Making her way back to the table in a daze, she sank with rubbery-knees into the closest chair and leaned her forehead against the palm of her hand for support. She tried to let everything he just told her sink in so she could make some sense of it all.

The walkers theory, going back on the road, and Daryl. All these warring emotions spinning around her head: fear, anger, dread, love, lust, desire. It was all too much. And now they had to go. There was no more time now to think about any of it.

By tonight, they'd be back on the road needing every bit of their wits focused on just surviving. She knew what lay ahead, what needed to be done and the enormity of it just made her want to lay down and cry.

Every bit of her was yearning to just be near Daryl right now, to gain some comfort from his presence. She had been upset earlier about how she handled things with him at breakfast. Even though she was still very unsure about where she stood with him, she shouldn't of let her emotions get the best of her like that. She had hoped to apologize and talk things over when he returned home. But that moment was lost when he returned and explained all he had to tell her. Now things felt even more awkward and distant between them.

Still, he did say he had stayed here at the funeral home for her. For them. Hope burned hot in her chest but she was too afraid to trust it. She knew he cared about her, felt responsible for her, but that wasn't remotely the same as what she felt for him.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. She was sad and afraid and craved being close with him. She wanted to strip off her clothes, follow him into that shower and press her naked body against his, feel his skin against hers and just be with him.

Despite it all, she decided to do just that. She steeled her fluttering-nerves and headed towards the bathroom. When she got there, Daryl was already out of the shower. He was naked except for a white-towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was dripping-wet as he walked around the room making piles on the bed of things to pack-up.

His eyes darted up to hers briefly, his expression was all-business. "You might want to grab a shower too. We will be heading out soon. Not sure when we will get another chance to bathe." Then he turned away from her and focused back on the task at hand.

Beth stood staring at him work and realized she was being childish yet again. Here he was getting them ready to go and she was busy moping around, focusing on her own selfish wants and desires instead of doing what needed to be done to get them moving.

She spied the three condom boxes left sitting on the nightstand and realized once they were on the road, they'd have nothing but time to talk about things. And she vowed they would talk this time. No matter how awkward it was. No matter what he would say to her, she had things she needed to know.

She stared at those boxes and remembered he desired her enough that he went out on a run just to get those. That had to count for something, didn't it? She felt in her heart it did, and she clung to that thought.

Pushing aside her selfish whims, she headed into the bathroom and got to work. She spoke out loud so Daryl would hear her plan, "I'll wash our clothes in the tub before I get showered. If I ring em out real good, I can hang them tonight wherever we end up to dry."

Daryl didn't even look up at her, just grunted out, "good," and continued to organize what they'd need to take.

A few frenzied-hours later, they stood outside the funeral home, packed-up and ready to go. Daryl's goal was to get outside the perimeter of the house before nightfall and setup camp somewhere remote. That should limit their chance of encountering any walkers tonight. Tomorrow, they'd head north, following the river. Maybe in a few days they'd get lucky and find another deserted house or barn to rest up in.

Beth went to pull her still damp hair up into a pony tail for the journey. She reached for the hair band she always kept on her wrist and found it wasn't there. She must have left it in the bathroom when she took her shower.

She looked over at Daryl who had his nose in the map double-checking their plan. "I forgot something. You sure you have everything from the house?"

He answered her without looking up. "Yeah, I triple-checked every room. Got everything that's needed."

"Ok. Be right back," she said.

She put down her pack and headed back into the house. She took the stairs two at

a time, anxious to be out of the house again so she wouldn't get emotional about leaving it. So many memories in this house. She knew she'd never forget it. It was after all, where she fell in love with Daryl.

She quickly found her hair band on the edge of the sink and twisted her hair up into a messy pony tail. Walking by the bedroom, her face fell as she spotted what was left behind. There on the nightstand stood all three condom boxes. No

way he could of missed those neon boxes right out in the open when he was packing up.

He said he packed what was needed. Triple-checked all the rooms even. That could only mean or thing. He left them behind on purpose.

Dammit.


	6. Chapter 6

Getting out past the perimeter of the funeral home took more time than Daryl anticipated. Just as he predicted it would, the walker count had risen again. They ran into three of them slowly-stumbling their way towards the house, and that was just in the small area they were traveling through. Two of the walkers they were able to skirt-around, one got too close and needed to be put down. Trying to keep himself free of walker-guts, he opted for his crossbow this time around.

Daryl bet if he would run the whole perimeter area he'd previously scouted, he'd find more walkers in every part. Lucky for him, there was no need for that now. For better or worse, they were moving was now well past full-dark, and they were in unfamiliar woods. He glanced over at Beth. She looked exhausted. He was sure he didn't look much better. Time to hunker-down and setup camp for the night. Unfortunately, they were not in an ideal area. Daryl motioned for Beth to stay put. They had been communicating silently the entire time. Keeping the noise to a minimal meant better chance of survival with the amount of walkers lurking about.

He shucked off his backpack, and handed his crossbow to Beth. She looked at him quizzically. He pointed up the closest tree. She tilted her chin up to follow his gaze, looked back at him and nodded that she himself, he bent down and then sprung up as high as he could grabbing onto one of the low-hanging branches to hoist himself up. Once he had a good grip, he used that as leverage to maneuver himself up to the next tree limb. He stopped three-fourths of the way up and perched himself on a sturdy branch. It was dark, but he knew he'd be able to spot large objects and any movement below. Shelter was his top priority right now.

He looked around from this new vantage point, hoping to spot something that would work for overnight. If not, he feared they'd both be up in the trees, strapped tight with their belts to the rough trunks for support while they rested. Craning his neck, he took in the whole of this new area. Nothing but fields of tall-grass and scattered-pockets of trees. No houses or barns to be found. Daryl sighed to himself. Guess sleeping in the trees was their best option at this point. Not a comfortable option but sleeping in the trees would keep them safe from walkers and hidden from other traveling people too. Plus, no one needed to take watch, they could both rest-up safely.

He was just about to signal to Beth when he spotted movement in the nearby field. Looking down, he could see her looking up at him waiting for his signal, her beautiful face glowing-white in the moonlight. He held out his open-palm to her and then flashed his pointer-finger; stop, wait one moment. She nodded that she understood. From his perch he could see three-figures in the field. Two adults and one young-child. From their grouping and gait, he knew they were people. They were also headed straight towards them.

Daryl signaled Beth to stay put and then quickly as he dared, climbed back down the tree. She wouldn't of had time to climb up before the people crossed their path and no way was he leaving her alone on the ground. Grabbing his bag and his Horton, he grasped her shoulder and steered her towards a grassy-area near the copse of trees they were just in. He pulled her down flat to the ground beside him. He felt the grass was tall enough to sufficiently hide them.

Confident that they were safe, as long as they didn't draw attention to themselves, Daryl finally looked over at Beth and immediately felt a stab of guilt. She was wide-eyed and terrified. He realized with all their efforts to remain as quiet as can be, he hadn't explained what he saw that had them cowering on the ground.

She was so frightened, she was shaking like a leaf. She probably thought they were moments from death. Forgetting how strained things were between them now, he automatically reached for her to comfort her. He pulled her tight against him, and wrapped his arms around her trembling form. Stroking her back, he whispered-low in her ear to soothe her fears. "It's ok, it's ok. Just a few people passin' by. Not walkers. Shhh, baby. It's ok, it's ok."

Grasping her chin, he tipped her face up to look into her eyes and make sure she understood that they were safe. When their eyes met, the unexpected intensity hit him like a punch in the gut. His breathe hissed-out and his skin flamed everywhere they were touching. His fingers curled into her back as he instinctively pulled her body closer to him. He felt dizzy from the strength of his desire for her. His breath stuttered and became erratic. He could see she was panting too, whether from fear or arousal he didn't know.

His nostrils flared as he took in her scent. Pushed flush against her like this, he realized there was no way to hide how hard he was for her already. He also realized he didn't want too. At this moment, drunk with arousal for her, he just didn't care. He only knew that he wanted her. He would always want her. His hips rocked lightly against her, seeking more contact as his mouth descended over hers.

Her lips were hungry against his, spurring him on, making his heart pound, making him frantic. She gasped and Daryl rocked harder against her. The sensation of her lips sliding over his, had waves of pleasure coursing through him. She stroked her tongue lightly against his and he felt her moan vibrate right through him, making him mindless, sapping any restraint he hoped to have at this moment.

"Mommy? I can't find you! I'm losted!" A small child's cry tore through the night-air. Beth and Daryl froze at the sound.

A frantic-mothers voice followed soon after. "Olivia! I'm here baby. Stand still and we will find you."

From the sound of the voices, the child had wandered close to their hiding place while her guardians, were wandering further away. The toddler must have lost her way in the tall grass making it hard for the adults to find her.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried out again.

"We're coming Olivia. Now listen to your Mommy baby, and stay still so we can find you," a man's soothing voice called out from a further sounding distance. Instead of moving closer, Daryl realized the strangers were moving further away from their frantic child.

He watched Beth's face and just knew she was gonna get involved. She was too kind-hearted. He shot her a warning look, silently begging her to wait, to give the people a chance to find the girl and move on. The girls cries were getting louder. Beth was practically jumping out of her skin trying to keep still. Were those damn people deaf?, he thought. They were going to have every walker in the area raining down on them all if they didn't shut-up soon.

"Mommy!" the petrified girl wailed again.

Beth jumped up yelling. "She's here! She's safe! Your girl's right here!" Daryl felt icy-cold dread fill his veins watching Beth reveal herself to these strangers. He was up and standing beside her, his crossbow aimed and ready in the next instant.

"Daryl stop! You'll scare her to death," Beth scolded, her hand already protectively on the sobbing little girl's shoulders. Seemed even terrified little girls weren't immune to Beth's charms. He nodded and lowered his Horton, but kept himself at the ready just in case.

"Oh! Olivia!" A young brunette woman ran up to them, making a bee-line for her daughter. The little girl wrapped her skinny-arms around the pretty woman's neck.

"Mommy, you founded me!" The toddler sobbed with joy.

The woman laughed, and rocked her child in her arms, "Yes baby, we did." A moment later, a young man joined the happy pair.

"Uncle Billy, you and Mommy were losted," Olivia sniffed.

The lanky, dark-haired man wrapped his arms around them both. Then seeing Beth and Daryl, he straightened up and offered his hand to Daryl. "Thank you so much. We were so worried."

Daryl just stared at the young man's outstretched hand until the silence grew uncomfortable. He had no interest in wasting time with these strangers. One look at them and he could tell they weren't dangerous though, 'cept maybe to themselves. He let his crossbow hang loose at his side. Beth stepped in and grasped the man's hand, shaking it firmly. "Billy is it? I'm Beth, and this is Daryl."

The handsome young man smiled at Beth, a little too-warmly in Daryl's opinion. "I go by Bill normally. This little runaway here is my niece Olivia. Her mother is my sister, Renee."

Renee held onto her daughter but nodded happily at both of them, her eyes shiny with tears. "Thank you both so much!"

Daryl nodded at the relieved mother. He turned back to face Bill. "What you thinkin, taking these two out at night line this?"

"Daryl!", Beth scolded again.

The younger man flashed a another confident grin at Beth, making Daryl scowl. He said, "No, it's ok. He's right."

Bill looked at Daryl. "I wouldn't of had them out here at all, except we had no choice. We were holed-up in this one little house for weeks. Everything was going ok, we were surviving. Then today the place just got over-run by those...things. We were lucky we all made it out alive."

Daryl nodded at him. Unfortunately it was a familiar-tale nowadays. And not everyone was so lucky to have their loved ones make it.

"You can't stay in one place that long. Those things, they can sense the living somehow. If you stay in one place too long, you'll get over run every time," Beth explained.

"How do you know this?" Renee asked.

Daryl cleared his throat and spoke, "we don't know for certain. But we've had a few places we thought was safe. They weren't. Nothing's safe for long anymore."

Beth turned toward Bill, who was watching her intently. "Our last place was a prison. Concrete walls, iron bars, rows of metal gates. After a few months, none of it mattered. The walkers just kept coming. So many, they collapsed the fences."

She left out the part about the Governor's invasion. The world was enough of a horror now without scaring this little girl any more than necessary. Besides, if the Governor hadn't invaded, the walkers were well on their way to collapsing every fence the prison had. Rotten-things just never got the chance to finish the job.

"A prison," Bill whispered. "Were there more of you?"

"Yeah," Daryl answered. "A lot more."

"I'm so sorry," Renee breathed and hugged Olivia tighter.

Beth pursed her lips and nodded at the woman. She could tell that Daryl was getting anxious. It was dark and they were still in unknown territory. It wasn't safe to be standing here talking.

"Where y'all headed?" Beth asked.

"My husband's in the Army. Bill and I have been steadily trying to make our way to his base," Renee explained. "Last time we spoke with Mike, his base, Fort Stewart, was gearing up to handle these things. We figure if we can get there, we can all be safe."

"You hear anything about it?" Bill asked.

"Naw," Daryl replied. "Heard another Army base, Fort Benning may of gotten overrun." He saw Renee's face fall and quickly amended, "But nothin for certain. Just rumors is all."

"Hey," Bill said looking brightly at Beth, "why don't y'all come with us? There's safety in numbers, right? I'm sure once we get to Fort Stewart, you'd be welcomed same as us."

"We're heading north," Daryl said bluntly.

Bill flashed Beth another winning-smile. Daryl thought the guy was probably some sort of lawyer or banker before the turn. He had that superior-air about him that automatically got Daryl's back up.

"I understand," Bill said. "But plans can change if the right opportunity presents itself. We could help each other keep watch, gather food, stay safe. Don't you think you and your daughter would be safer on an Army base than out here on your own?"

"Daryl's not my Dad." Beth sputtered. She glanced over at Daryl. The phrase, "if looks could kill" could perfectly describe his expression right now.

"I'm so sorry," Bill back-tracked. "I just assumed..."

"Yeah well, not your first mistake today, is it Bill?" Daryl said, his tone cold as ice.

Bill pursed his lips, "Again. I'm sorry. I never meant any harm. You both saved us tonight. Truly. And my offer stands. If one...or both of you wanted to join us, you're welcome."

"Thank you," Beth said. "We really do appreciate your offer. But we are headed north."

Bill nodded.

"Do you need any food? Supplies?" Beth asked.

Renee answered, "we were able to grab some supplies thankfully, but food...were not sure how much longer we'll have to be on the road."

Daryl spoke, gesturing toward young Olivia who was sleepily peeking out from her her mother's embrace, "we've got some food to spare. You've gotta look out for that little girl of yours."

"Thank you," Renee said.

"Yes, thank you both," Bill added. "Since you're heading north, there's a public works storage building about five-miles north of here, left of the river. We tried the locks, but it was sealed-up tight. There was still some daylight so we decided to move on. If you guys don't find shelter that might be a decent place to hole-up for a few days."

"Thanks," Beth said, as Daryl handed Renee a bag of food. "Guess we best get moving on. Take care of yourselves and sweet Olivia?"

"Will do," Bill said, watching Beth with a puzzling look. "Good luck to you both."

Beth nodded and watched as they disappeared with a now sleeping toddler into the night.

"So, should we take to the trees?", Beth asked, once the strangers were out of ear shot. She moved closer to lean against Daryl.

He took a step back, avoiding her closeness. "Naw. Let's head for that storage shed."

Beth frowned, "but Bill said it was five miles from here?"

"I'm not tired," Daryl said, and he started walking away.

"I am," she complained.

"Not too late to catch up with Bill," he said bluntly as he kept walking.

Beth stared in disbelief at him as he walked away along the path. What an ass, she thought. Then her mind flashed-back to earlier tonight, to their moment together in the grass. He was so sweet to her then, when she really needed him to be, and she had wanted him so badly.

By the way he was touching her, and how hard he was against her, it was clear he wanted her too. Her body still-tingled from the memory of the pleasure he was giving her before they had been interrupted. Then suddenly, everything clicked in her mind and it all made sense to her.

Daryl was jealous.

Beth smirked knowingly at his retreating form. With renewed energy, she grabbed her backpack and followed Daryl into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Even following Daryl's determined stride, it still took over an hour to get to the storage shed. Thankfully, it was easy to find in the dark, because of it's proximity to the river. The traveling was uneventful. No other people or walkers crossed their path, which was a good sign that this shed would be remote enough to stay and rest for a few days. Beth was positively dead on her feet. And despite his aggressive-pace, she knew Daryl was exhausted too. It was most likely sheer-anger keeping him upright at this point, she thought taking in his glowering expression.

They traveled in silence, which was not unusual for them to do. This time though, the quiet seemed more deliberate. Like whomever would dare to speak first would open the floodgates of wrath upon them from the other. By some unplanned agreement, they both held their tempers during their journey, choosing to stew in silence for now.

They maneuvered cautiously around the small cement-block building. "Shed" had been a bit of a vague description, Beth thought. She had pictured a wooden shack in her head, not this small-fortress before her. It was a nice change to have a positive surprise for once. This place could easily keep them safe from walkers.

There was only one window, and a double-door. Beth peeked through the window's dirty-glass, while Daryl rattled the metal-chain locking the twin door handles together. If there were any walkers inside, the noise would have them hissing and beating on the doors to get out before long.

After a blissfully silent moment, they knew they were in the clear. Beth stood back from the door while Daryl swung his axe at the metal-chain. Sparks flew and it took a few chops, but in no time they were pulling off the chain and tugging open the squeaky doors.

The interior smelled stale and a bit musty from the nearby river, but there was no rot of corpses thankfully. This building had obviously not been opened since before the turn. Daryl flicked on his flashlight and led the way inside. There were a few rows of open metal shelving on a cement floor, holding all sorts of tools and supplies that public works crews might need for work along the river.

From the light of Daryl's flashlight as it illuminated around the small area, she could make out chainsaws, axes, different shaped shovels, oil and gas cans, and metal boxes no doubt full of smaller tools. There was also some random marine equipment, like anchors, boat motor-parts and different size weights and lengths of rope.

Next to the shelving was a small open-area. At the far end of this space was a square wooden table, dirty with oil-splotches, and three folding chairs. This was obviously where the workers would maintain the tools, and maybe eat their lunches if they were stuck out here for the day. It was very tiny area to maneuver around in, but the open part allowed just enough room to lay their sleeping rolls down flat next to each other on the floor.

No guns, no knives, and no food. There was however, a few sealed-jugs of water like the ones that were used in office water cooler machines. Those were most likely still drinkable. And if the jugs of water smelled-off when opened, they could always use it to clean up their weapons or themselves. All in all, this building had a lot to offer them as a temporary shelter and Beth was grateful to Bill and Renee for telling them about it.

Daryl handed her the flashlight. "Hold the light on the doors?" He asked.

"Ok," she replied, shining the beam where he instructed. She watched as he pulled the doors closed tight. He wrapped the cut chain around the interior door handles, securing it temporarily by looping his axe handle tightly through the metal-links. When finished, he turned to face her, shielding his eyes from the harshness of the bright beam. Beth moved the light off him and used it to illuminate the first set of shelves.

"Saw an old oil lamp over here on this first shelf." She said by way of an explanation for keeping his flashlight. She stood on her tip-toes to reach where it was. Patting around on the dusty shelf with her fingers, she knew she had to

be close to grasping the edge of it. Stretching as high as she dared, she finally grasped the lamp and pulled it towards her.

She didn't hear him walk over until he was standing directly behind her. He cleared his throat which startled her, and she rocked backwards still clutching the lamp. She caught her feet against his when she went back. This put her off-balance and she started to fall, Daryl's flashlight clattered to the floor. Panicking, she automatically cried out and flailed her free arm, hoping for some

purchase to stop her from falling. Instead, she found herself pressed up tight against Daryl's body for the second time on this never-ending night. However, this time around he was nowhere near as sweet. He quickly righted her and pushed her off him.

"What the hell, Beth?" He spit out angrily at her. "Watch yourself."

His attitude and actions pissed her off, so she spit back at him. "I didn't know you were right there! You shouldn't of been so close to me."

"Don't worry princess, it'll _never_ happen again," he said, his tone like ice. After the way he acted towards her the entire walk

here, Beth had had enough of his attitude, his anger, and just enough of him in general.

"God! What's your problem, Daryl?" Beth demanded, not backing down one-bit. She was exhausted, angry and heartsick. If he wanted a fight he'd get one because she was officially done with this bullshit situation.

"You're kiddin', right? How much time you got?" He sputtered incredulously, like she'd actually done something wrong. He was impossible!

She put the oil lamp down on the table as she fumbled around in her pocket for her lighter. Her hand shook with anger as she pushed the flame towards the wick, but somehow it still caught-fire. A small flame illuminated the space around them

instantly, bathing them both in an soft-yellow light, while everything just outside of them remained pitch-black.

"I've got nothing but time. World ended, remember?" She retorted flippantly, daring him to keep pushing her.

"That's just it! Damn world ended and here you are..." He gestured roughly, flicking his hand up and down in her direction. He was starting to get worked up. His chest was heaving and his blue-eyes were angry and hard as he stared at her.

"Here I am...what?!" Beth yelled, getting angry herself.

"You shouldn't be here with me, ok?!" He choked out, his voice cracking a bit with emotion.

Beth reeled back as if she had been slapped. In many ways she felt like she had been, the pain from his words hitting her hard. All this time she wished he'd talk to her and when he finally does, this is what he says? It felt like a cruel joke.

She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out but a rough-sob. Hot tears threatened, but she bit the inside of her mouth hard to hold them in. Taking a moment to steady herself, she tried to think, but was at a loss. She had a million-things to say to this man but right now she could think of only one question.

"Why?" She asked, her voice shaky. Her eyes were shiny and huge in her pale face as she watched him. She vaguely wondered if he'd even bother answering her or if he would just leave. It honestly wouldn't surprise her if he chose the latter.

"Why?! You know _why_!" He yelled at her. His blue-eyes were narrowed to slits as he stared daggers through her. His chest was heaving as anger and emotion poured off of him in waves.

"Daryl, I don't. I need to hear you say it. Please...just say it." She pleaded, her voice quiet and small.

He paced angrily, like a restless tiger in a cage. The small space of their shelter seeming way too tiny to contain him right now.

"I can't...I can't _think straight_ when you're around! You distract me too much. You...you get in my head and my thoughts get all jumbled together. It's like I can't focus on anythin'..." He exploded. Running his fingers roughly through his hair, he continued to pace, the frustration rolling through him. He looked down at the floor. He seemed to need a moment to regroup.

He stopped pacing and cautiously met her gaze, his eyes were sad. "I can't focus on anythin...cept you."

Beth's eyes went wide at his words. Hearing them made the weight on her chest began to lift a little. It wasn't what she thought. She had thought he didn't want her around, that she was too much of a burden. She still didn't understand why he didn't want her with him, but Thank God it wasn't what she thought.

Daryl leaned against the cool cement wall and slowly slid down to the floor, his legs sprawled out in front of him. He looked tired and defeated. "It ain't right, Beth. You know it ain't. I'm almost old enough to be your Daddy! But whenever I'm around you, it feels right. It feels like it's ok, but I know it ain't. But I can't seem to stop. You shouldn't be stuck with me Beth. You should be with someone like that Bill." He angrily spit out that last word, like it was painful for him to even say it.

Beth sensed he had been jealous of the younger man and she wouldn't deny that the thought had given her a thrill. It fueled her secret hope that Daryl could have true feelings for her. Still, how could he believe that she would prefer some strange man to him? After everything they'd done and been through together? It was ridiculous.

"Bill? I don't want Bill." She said emphatically.

"You should be with someone like him, someone younger, someone better, but instead you got stuck with me. I know better. It would of been ok, would have been fine us being stuck together. But then I touched you. I know I should have never touched you, should have never been with you..."

He picked at his fingernails so roughly while he spoke that Beth could see he sliced a small-cut in his skin. He stuck his wounded finger in his mouth a moment before he continued.

"I can't lie and say I regret it, cause I don't. 'Cept now, things are all mixed up. I can't seem to stop wanting you." He admitted painfully.

"Stop, stop, stop it!" Beth yelled, coming close and standing right over him, her small feet planted in between his outstretched legs. She leaned down and pointed her finger in his chest. "I don't want to hear anymore reasons why being with me is so bad! Tell me why you and I are good! Cause I think we are! Tell me why you're with me!"

He looked wrung-out, defeated, like it was taking everything in him to not run away from this moment. It pained her to see him like this but at the same time, she needed to hear it.

"I can't." He pleaded.

"_Please_..." She begged.

He sighed and slowly stood back up, resigning himself to deal with her. She backed-up and waited, but then the moment stretched too long, and she feared he wouldn't tell her after all. Then, he did.

"You're good...and kind." He said his voice shaky and unsure.

Beth let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Go on." She urged.

He reached behind himself to toy with the tattered blinds on the building's lone-window. She watched him with knowing eyes, and held her tongue. She knew he was nervous and he just needed a distraction. If anything his actions only endeared him to her more. She knew he was wildly uncomfortable right now but he was trying, because she had asked him too.

He continued, "You're brave. You're smart."

She blushed and looked down.

He noticed her reaction and it gave him some confidence to continue. "You're so pretty and I love the way you smell."

Still blushing, she looked up and met his gaze. He was staring back at her, his eyes intent on hers."I like how you look at me."

"How do I look at you?" She asked.

He took a step closer to her. "Like I'm everything you need. Like you want me as much as I want you."

"You are...I do." She breathed.

He kept talking."You make me feel..."

"Loved?" She asked.

He nodded.

"You are Daryl. I love you." She confessed.

He broke their gaze to look upward. When he looked back at her, he had tears in his eyes. "Ah, fuck." He says, swiping annoyingly at the wetness.

"You shouldn't..." He said, shaking his head no.

"But I _do_ and you love me too." She said.

He didn't answer, but instead reached for her. She went willingly into his crushing embrace. Leaning down, he captured her lips and just breathed her in a moment before the floodgates opened and all she knew was the feel of his hands, lips and tongue on her, healing her soul.

"God Beth, I need you." He pleaded, his breath ragged.

"Hold on, wait." She pulled away. Daryl's heart dropped but he immediately backed-off. When she turned back to him he looked worried and uncertain.

"Sorry for jumping all over you. It's just...it's hard for me to tell you how I feel. I'm no good with words. But that doesn't mean I don't feel things. It's just...I wanted to _show_ you what you mean to me." He whispered roughly.

Beth smiled and reached behind her. Daryl was startled when she tossed something at him. He caught it reflexively. Opening his hand he was surprised to see a box of condoms. One of the boxes he had left at the funeral home! He watched as she shifted her body slightly to the side, revealing her open backpack behind her. Nestled on top, he could plainly see the two remaining condom boxes.

He grinned at the sight. And for once, the words came easy for him."I love you Beth Greene."

He grinned over at her and she was smiling right back at him. Her heart swelled

with love for this man.

"I know." She replied saucily.

"Oh yeah, you do huh?" He replied smirking at her. "Well, saying it's good, but

I think I know a better way." He said reaching for her. She went willingly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Daryl pulled Beth's small naked form under his body in one swift motion. He was eager to be with her but had taken a moment to set out their sleeping mats and blankets. He had doubled them up for extra-padding against the cold, concrete floor to make it more comfortable for her to lay on.

Leaning down he pressed his lips to hers for a bruising, wet kiss. She felt soft and warm against his naked body and God, how he had missed her. He was hard already, pressing himself between her thighs, not yet inside her, but mindlessly seeking any pressure to ease the ache already starting to build within him.

His lips were forceful against hers as his brain switched-off and instinct took over. His tongue roughly sought entrance to stroke and slide against hers. At the same time he ravaged her mouth, he rocked himself hard against her, each push sending little jolts of pleasure pulsing through his body.

He wanted every part of her. It had only been two days since he'd been inside of her, but that was two days too long in his book. He knew he would never get enough of her, and for some reason that made him even more desperate for her. He pushed himself hard against her pubic bone, his hip digging into her thigh. She gasped a little and shifted herself away from the rough pressure. He shifted as well. He was still on top of her but wanted to be able to reach between her legs to feel her.

"Daryl?" She whispered breathlessly between kisses.

"Hmmm?" He grunted, not stopping touching her. His fingers, slick with her moisture, roughly plucked and pushed at her clit. She squirmed and danced beneath him. He heard her suck in her breath and felt her muscles tense up at his forceful touch.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Damn but he was a clumsy idiot sometimes. Last thing he wanted was to hurt her. All he wanted was to show her how much he loved her. He could tell by how she was moving and how tense she was that in his eagerness, he had been too rough with her. He lifted his head to look her in the eyes, see if she was ok, but she quickly pulled him back down for another kiss.

"It's ok. It's ok." She murmured against his lips, soothing his worry away.

He didn't respond, but took her at her word and just kept kissing her soft lips and losing himself bit by bit to the lust pulsing through his body. He felt himself losing control. His body coiling tighter, speeding towards the bliss he'd only ever found with this woman in his arms.

Daryl was so hard he hurt. His body was tense and shaking, screaming to be inside her. He wasn't used to denying himself once things went this far. Just the thought of pounding himself into her warm, wet, heat had him on the edge of desperation. His fingers shook as he struggled to be more gentle with her.

He needed to slow things down a bit, give her time to catchup. If he hasn't been so damn eager for her, he knew she'd be closer. He left her mouth to work his way across her jaw to the baby soft skin of her neck. She smelled amazing and God, he just wanted to eat her up. He sucked too hard on her skin and felt her wince vibrate against him.

Daryl stilled at the sound. He could feel his heartbeat thudding wildly in his chest as he struggled for control. Leashing his libido he pulled his mouth off her neck where he could see that yes, a bruise was already blooming on her delicate skin. He looked down into her eyes. Big-blue eyes looked back at him with love, making him want to delve right back into her and the pleasure she was giving him. But something in her face gave him pause.

"You ok?" He whispered huskily.

She nodded, a bit too quickly in his opinion. Then she smiled, but it wasn't her. It didn't reach her eyes. He propped himself up on his elbow to really study her now, the fog of lust lifting from his brain.

"Beth?" He pressed.

He saw the moment that she caught on that his mood had shifted. Her eyes got too wide and she squirmed a little beneath him, uncomfortable with his now razor-sharp attention.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked bluntly.

"No," she shook her head emphatically. He narrowed his eyes at her, doubting her sincerity.

She blushed, and relented, "Just a little. It still felt really good though."

He let his gaze travel down to the deep hickey on her neck and further still to the angry-red mark on her bare thigh where he was pushing against her. He sighed and rolled off her onto his back, resting his forearm across his forehead as he stared upward, disgusted with himself.

"How long?" He asked, his voice tight.

"What?" She answered puzzled.

"How long have I been hurtin you? Every time?" He demanded.

"It's not like that, Daryl," she assured him, stroking her hand over his bicep. "It always feels so good, being with you. Just...just sometimes you're a little rough is all." She confessed ducking her head at that last bit.

He sighed and rolled towards her, his voice barely a whisper. "I just wish you'd of told me. You feel too good sometimes." He said stroking her arm.

She met his eyes and he smirked. "Alright, _all_ the time. I know I get carried away when I'm with you."

He gently squeezed her arm. "I want to please you."

"You do. Every time" she swore.

"But I'm hurtin you too." He said frowning.

"A little rough can be good sometimes." She admitted her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.

His lips curved up a fraction at her bold admission. She was so perfect, it was easy to forget she was new to all this. His fingertips gently brushed soft blond tendrils off her forehead. "Yeah, but not rough every time. I can do better. I _want _to do better. Want to show you how much I love you, but instead I'm hurtin you."

"Mmm. That feels good." She moaned lightly.

"This?" He murmured quizzically, repeating the motion of his fingertips, moving her hair off her forehead.

"Mmm-hmm," she sighed. "Soft touches like that feels good."

Daryl buried his face in her hair, breathing her in deep. "Yeah well, that'd be great if it was only your hair I want to touch."

Beth giggled. "No, not just my hair. Feels good everywhere."

She took his hand and showed him, moving them so that he was lightly touching her neck with just the pads of his fingertips.

He smirked at her. "Alright...so, soft?" He said once again taking control and stroking gentle fingers down her neck and between her breasts to her stomach. "Like this?"

Beth sighed in pleasure and looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "Mmmhmm. Feels good."

"Yes, it does," he stuttered softly, his fingers repeating their gentle motions, raising goosebumps over her heated skin. Her reactions were mesmerizing to him and he was spellbound, just taking it all in.

Exploring her like this was sweet torture. On one hand, his body was throbbing with need for her. He wanted to push himself inside her and thrust and rut until he felt that exquisite release. On the other hand, watching her pleasure build because of what he was doing to her was really fucking sexy in ways he never expected.

It never occurred to him before being with Beth to push aside his own needs and focus solely on another person. He wasn't a selfish lover. He liked his partners to be satisfied. But to take pleasure in their enjoyment alone? He never had anyone worth trying it with before now.

He leaned forward and gently closed his mouth over her nipple. He wanted to suck hard, but instead, he used his tongue to softly flick over the hard peak. She gasped and squirmed against him, and he his free hand he skimmed his fingers down in-between her thighs and with a feather-light touch, softly circled and stroked her clit.

"Daryl!" She gasped.

He smirked, his lips curving softly against her breast as his tongue continued laving at her nipple. She wasn't ever this vocal. He liked it. A lot.

It stirred something in him, making him feel powerful, making him burn with a different kind of need than his normal driving-lust. His desire was still pressing, but instead of controlling him, it was banked. Another need had risen to take it's place. The need to make Beth say his name like that over and over again.

"Now that's the kind of noises I want to hear outta you." He murmured.

Carefully, he kept his thumb on her clit and moved his hand so that he could push his finger gently into her wet heat, his lips still on her breast. With patience he never knew he had, he kept the pace tortuously slow as he moved his finger in and out of her.

Daryl had never really known gentle. He'd only known rough. Maybe when he was very young, when his Momma was still alive. He could only remember bits and pieces of that time. Momma stroking his hair at bedtime and gentle kisses to his forehead where he could smell the stale beer on her breath.

Then she died. After that, there was no more sweet or gentle in Daryl's life. Any scraps of physical affection came in the form of crushing hugs from Merle or the occasional slap on the back from their old man, when he wasn't wasted that is. Then, the only physical contact he got was a whipping with his belt.

When he was grown, Daryl had his moments with women. They were strangers mostly. Women Merle would sweet talk into his bed always had a friend or sister that needed attention too. He was usually drunk and more than happy to oblige. Everyone got what they wanted but there was definitely nothing gentle about those blind encounters.

But for this woman, he was realizing he wanted to do better. Despite being new to it, Beth was a very sexual woman. He knew he could make her come just from penetrative sex, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to show her with his body better than he could explain with words how he felt.

Touching her like this had him more turned on then he'd ever been. God, he just loved her. He'd find whatever gentleness he had in him and give it to her. Her watched as her naked form, bathed in a soft-yellow glow from the flickering flame of the oil lamp, writhed in pleasure. He kept his pace tortuously slow. His tongue on her nipples, his fingers between her legs.

Within moments she was bucking against him, pushing for more contact, more friction. Just more. She was sobbing out his name, making him crazy, but he wouldn't give in to his own clawing needs. He kept the pace, knowing she was close. Needing to see her lose control.

Moving lower, he dipped his head to taste her for the first time. She was shy when she first realized his intentions, but as soon as his tongue began to move over her wet folds, her muscles tensed and her breath exploded in a whimpering cry. She wove her fingers into his hair, anchoring him in place. As if he wanted to be anywhere else but where he was.

Daryl didn't think sex could get any better with Beth. He was so wrong. He'd never done this to a woman before. He was nervous and unsure...for about three seconds. As soon as his tongue touched her clit, instinct took over. He just did what he wanted. He explored her, tasted her, loved her and she responded in ways that were almost too much for him to handle. She was everything he could ever want. He was drowning in her, and he loved it.

Despite his resolve, his own body was weakening. He found himself thrusting lightly against the blankets beneath them as his mouth continued to feast on her. His dick was so hard, he was leaking all over. He grit his teeth and forced himself to stay still. He knew if she were to touch his right now, it'd be all over.

"Daryl!" She groaned and arched-up against him. "God just like that!" She whimpered, her head thrashing from side to side, lost to the combination of sensations as his fingers and tongue seemed to be everywhere she needed all at once.

He could feel her tensing up, and he knew it was because she was close. He flicked his eyes up over her undulating torso. He needed to watch her come apart. He needed to hear her. If he could just hold on long enough. He pushed his finger back inside of her just as he sensed she was nearing her peak.

"Oh my God, Daryl!" She cried out as she quivered and shook against him as she came. She was so damned beautiful, he couldn't look away from the sight. He crawled up and crushed her to him. She sighed against him, coming down.

"I need you inside me." She pleaded. "Need to feel you. Now. Please."

Daryl swallowed and nodded, reaching for a condom. His fingers shook as he carefully rolled it on.

"Beth, that was so... I...I ain't gonna last."

"S'ok. Just please. I need you."

He nodded, grasped himself and slowly pushed inside her. She was hot, wet and swollen, and she gripped him just right. His back bowed and he dropped his forehead to hers to take a moment to get himself under control.

After a few beats, he began to move. Still sensitive from her recent orgasm, Beth moaned and cried out with every gentle thrust. Waves of pleasure pulsed through Daryl as he picked up the pace, spurred on by her vocal reaction.

He couldn't hold himself back any longer. The intense pleasure he was feeling combined with her moaning and writhing beneath him had him mindless. He drove himself roughly into her over and over until it all became too much and he peaked. His pace stuttered, his muscles tensed and shook as he pushed hard one last time, spurting into her.

Resting his full body weight on her for a moment, his mind was beautifully blank. There was only her, soft and warm beneath him. He felt her small body start to shift and he knew he must be getting heavy. Grasping the end of the condom, he carefully withdrew from her heat and rolled to his back.

"That was..." She began.

"All my pleasure." He said.

"I was gonna say amazing. I love you." She replied snuggling closer against him. He shifted his arm so she could rest her head on his chest.

He absently played with her hair while their bodies cooled and their breathing returned to normal. She was almost asleep when he surprised himself by speaking.

"Say it again?" He asked.

"What?" She mumbled sleepily.

He squirmed uncomfortably beneath her.

"You're an amazing lover." She said with certainty.

He chuckled, "I like that, but I meant the love stuff."

"I love you?" She said, uncertain of that's what he wanted to hear.

He nodded and hugged her tighter to him.

She propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him. Her fingers stroking the hair on his chest.

"I love you so much, Daryl. I really do." She breathed.

"Maybe you could remind me of that sometimes?" He asked shyly.

"I promise I will. Everyday." She said earnestly.

He sighed and relaxed, satisfied with her answer.

"Will you tell me too?" She questioned.

He stared up at her trying to gauge if she was teasing him or serious. It never dawned on him that this perfect creature would need such assurances from him. Wasn't it painfully obvious that he was desperately in love with her?

She was looking at him with those big blue eyes, patiently waiting for his answer. He swallowed realizing that she was maybe just as vulnerable and unsure as him in this situation. As ridiculous as it seemed to him, it must be true or she wouldn't have asked. Beth didn't play games like that.

He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Jesus, how could they both be so ass-backwards about something so simple? Both of them letting their pride get in the way. So stupid.

When he met her eyes, she looked worried, waiting for his reassurances. He kissed her lips hard and cupped her chin to keep her eyes focused on him. He didn't want any more misunderstandings between them, mucking things up.

"I love you Beth Greene with everything I am, forever and ever. You're it for me and I will make sure to tell you that every damn day."

She smiled and he could see she was relieved. Despite his self-doubt, Daryl couldn't deny the love he was seeing in her eyes, looking straight at him. He knew it wouldn't be easy, accepting that she was truly his body and soul. He knew there would probably be days where his fears and doubts would outweigh her words of love.

Thinking of all they had been through, and had yet to deal with in this world gone to shit was overwhelming. A big part of him still wanted to hide Beth away, keep her safe. He knew that was ridiculous though. There was no place safe for long anymore.

He could only wish that they'd get more time together. He was surprised to realize that these thoughts didn't make him angry like they usually did. The feelings Beth brought out in him were making him think different about things. He was startled to realize that strangeness he was feeling was hope. Hope for them, hope of finding the others, hope for a safe life with her. He looked down at her and felt simply...happiness. He shook his head and thought wryly to himself, "definitely her bitch."

He cupped her breast and gently rubbed his thumb over her nipple. She grinned at him lazily, making his pulse race and his heart swell.

"Again?" She asked, turning toward him willingly.

He pulled her close and breathed into her hair. "Always"

The End.


End file.
